A village in the parish of Kilmacrehy, barony of Corcomroe, Co. Clare,
Munster. It stands on the north side of Ballyella or Liscanor
bay, and on the new coast-road of the county, 2¼ miles west-north-west
of Lehinch, and 4¼ west of Ennistymon. It has been entirely formed
since 1775; and contained, in 1814, nearly 200 houses, about 10 of which
were slated, and about 40 inhabited by fishermen. It stands on
the estate of General Sir Augustin Fitzgerald. A pier at the village
is exposed to the force of the Atlantic, and has been several times
much injured; but it possesses much comparative value in consequence
of the bold and dangerous character of the neighbouring line of coast,
and affords considerable shelter to small craft, and is much used for
the purposes of trade. The cost of constructing it was £3,031.
"The plan of the harbour," says an official report published
in 1836, "was originally made by Mr. Nimmo, and was designed to
have an interior excavated basin, and a pier extending 600 feet from
the root to low water-mark. Exclusive of the objections to interior
excavation, which the unsuccessful result of the experiment that had
been made afforded, the objection on account of expense caused the Board
to order a plan on a more limited scale. The plan consists of
a pier in continuation of the work that had been commenced, embracing
a natural lough, and the only portion of anchorage-ground which the
place affords, nearly all the remainder being rock. This pier
measures 527 feet in length; and there was also a breakwater pier 120
feet in length." The village is a coast-guard station; and,
in 1836, the district belonging to that station employed in the fisheries
42 row-boats and 122 fishermen. Not far to the west of the village
commence the magnificent cliffs of MOHER. In the vicinity of the
village are the ruins of Liscanor-castle, and the mansions and villas
of Rock-lodge, Seamount, Castlepark, Liscanor-house, Moher-lodge, Moher-house,
and Birchfield, the last the seat of Cornelius OBrien, Esq.
Area of the village, 24 acres. Pop., in 1831, 506; in 1841, 562.
Houses 83. Families employed chiefly in agriculture, 26; in manufactures
and trade, 72; in other pursuits, 17. Families dependent chiefly
on property and professions, 3; on the directing of labour, 22; on their
own manual labour, 84; on means not specified, 6.

The Parliamentary Gazeteer of Ireland,
1845Courtesy of Clare Local Studies Project